1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an optical flow imaging and analysis configuration used in particle analysis instrumentation, and more particularly to an optical flow imaging system used to detect the effectiveness of fluid treatment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The art has seen various optical/flow systems employed for transporting a fluid within an analytical instrument to an imaging and optical analysis area. A liquid sample is typically delivered into the bore of a flow chamber and this sample is interrogated in some way so as to generate analytical information concerning the nature or properties of the sample. For example, a laser beam may excite the sample that is present in the bore of the capillary, with the emitted fluorescence energy representing the signal information.
From an optical perspective, the objectives and flow chambers have included those of low to medium numerical aperture (NA). A typical flow imaging system includes a cylindrical or rectangular glass rod having a hollow co-axial cylindrical or rectangular bore of smaller diameter, in which the sample to be analyzed is placed. With the sample in place, optical analysis is performed with low to medium numerical aperture (NA) optics (e.g., NA 32 0.6), typically an air objective. Such low to medium NA optics are considered easier to use and more suitable for dealing with the limitation of having the fluid of interest spaced from the optics by the thickness of the rod wall, which are simply too thick to permit use of high NA optics.
Nevertheless, high NA optics systems have been developed and used to detect the content of fluid samples. One such system that has proven to be effective at organism detection is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,796,256, issued Sep. 14, 2010. That system includes an oil-immersion arrangement to facilitate the use of high NA optics. The entire content of U.S. Pat. No. 7,796,256 is incorporated herein by reference.
The flow-based imaging systems in existence to date have been limited in their usage as an aid to determine the quantity and type of organism contained in a fluid sample. That information is of value in understanding what is likely in the fluid from which that sample was acquired. The recipient of that information must then decide what to do, if anything, with that knowledge. Until the present invention, imaging systems were employed only to establish organism type and, as effectively as possible, the number of such organisms per some volumetric value. Beyond that, imaging systems, including flow cytometers, have not been used for the purpose of assessing the effectiveness of any effort carried out to deal with such organisms. Primarily, the organism or organisms for which neutralization or elimination is of interest.
To date, imaging systems have not been used for the purpose of assessing the effectiveness of efforts to neutralize or eliminate organisms of a fluid. For example, undesirable organisms contained in drinking water and ballast water, but not limited thereto. What is needed is a system and method for determining the effectiveness of fluid treatment efforts.